Blade-dispensing magazine



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N. TEST] BLADE-DISPENSING MAGAZINE Oct. 14, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledJuly 29, 1946 mi m N. R NS%IU 5M 7 V fln 7 5 A N Patented Oct. 1 4, 1952 T",

BLADE-DISPENSING MAGAZINE Nicholas Testi, Boston, Mass., assignor to TheGillette Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationJuly 29, 1946, Serial No. 686,915

14 Claims.

The present invention relates to magazines for dispensing razor blades.

The problem of providing magazines which will dispense razor blades asneeded in an assured and reliable manner becomes increasingly difiicultas the thickness of the blades decreases. Thus, the problem of providinga magazine which will reliably dispense unwrapped blades whose thicknessis in the order of .007" or less, and

particularly the extremely fine flexible doubleedged blades commerciallyknown as thin blades whose thickness is of the order of only ,004, is anespecially difiicult one. The present invention is addressed to a simpleand practical solution of that problem.

One object of the present invention is to provide a simple, compact andinexpensive magazine for dispensing unwrapped blades of .007" thicknessor less, which notwithstanding the thinness of the blades, will dispensethem in a positive, assured and reliable manner, and without jamming.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a blade-dispensingmagazine wherein the blade-ejecting member has means for selecting theend blade from a stack of aligned thin blades and initially advancing itfrom its original position in said stack, and wherein the security ofthe driving connection between said blade-ejecting member and said bladeis substantially strengthened after said initial advancement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a magazine whichwill dispense relatively thin centrally-slotted blades, having aplurality of transversely-extending branch notches communicating withthe main central slot, in a longitudinal direction, through engagementof a reciprocable blade-ejecting member with the blade materialbordering a predetermined transverselyextending branch notch or notches,the bladeejecting member being definitely prevented from engaging theblade in the zones of any branch notch other than the desiredpredetermined correct ones.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a magazine fordispensing relatively thin blades from a stack of such blades housed inthe magazine, wherein simple, reliable and stable means are provided forholding back or stripping from the blade being ejected .the thinadjacent blades, said means being inherently adapted to function withextreme accuracy and being free of objectionable warping, shrinking orother undesirable stresses or factors, both during as well as after itsmanufacture, and which, were they present, would tend to impair theaccuracy and effectiveness of its functioning.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a magazine havingsome or all of the foregoing features which can be readily manufacturedunder the latitude of ordinary ranges of commercial manufacturingtolerances, and which will afiord the advantages resulting from saidfeatures without requiring adherence during production to any special orcritically close tolerances, particularly in the assembly of parts.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensingmagazine having the aforementioned unsual advantages and which is yet ofrelatively simple construction and inexpensive to produce and whichreadily lends itself to mass production techniques.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear more fullyfrom the following detailed description, accompanying drawings andappended claims, the present invention in one of its aspects mayinclude, broadly, a magazine containing a stack of aligned relativelythin razor blades, blade-dispensing means including a bladeforwardingmember movable into driving relation with the end blade of said stack,said bladeforwarding member itself being provided with meansco-operating with said end blade insuring that only that blade of saidstack of thin blades will be directly driven forward by said member, andnot the adjacent or following blades, and means for improving andsubstantially strengthening the security of the "driving connectionbetween the blade-forwarding member and the forwarded blade afterselective displacement of the latter from its position in said stack,thereby affording assured selection and guaranteed secure ejection ofonly one thin blade at a time from said stack of thin blades, and makingthat selection and the security of the ejection entirely independent ofany critical arrangement or relation between the blade-forwarding memherand any other part of said magazine. The present invention morespecifically may include a casing enclosing or containing a stack ofunwrapped aligned blades, spring means for yieldably urging said stackagainst a fixed element or elements so that at least the forward end ofthe uppermost or end blade of said stack will be in exit position, areciprocable blade-forwarding member drivingly engageable solely withsaid uppermost blade, said member having two portions of invariable orfixed relation to each other, one of said portions being adapted to bearagainst some portion of the upper surface of said uppermost blade andthe other portion extending with respect tosaid first-mentioned portionin the direction of the thickness of said blade by an amount notexceeding the minimum thickness of said blades and said last-mentionedportion being drivingly engageable with an edge portion of said bladethereby assuring positiveinitial displacement of only said uppermostblade no matter how thin the blades in said stack maybe, and

means causing. the blade-forwarding member and the blade relatively toshift into more secure engagement with each other after initialdisplacement of the blade, thereby assuring that the blade-forwardingmember will not slip out of operative engagement with the blade duringth subsequent ejection of the latter.

The present invention in'another of its aspects may include a casinghousing a stack of unwrapped aligned blades, the blades being centrallyslotted longitudinally and having a plurality of transversely extendingbranch notches communicating with the central slot, blade ejection meansincluding a blade-forwarding member reciprocable with respect to saidcasing in the longitudinal direction of said blades, saidblade-forwarding member having a blade-engaging portion adapted to bebrought into abutting driving engagement with an edge portion of theblade bordering a predetermined one of said transversely extendingbranch notches to eject said blade from the magazine in a longitudinaldirec-' tion, and-means holding said blade-engaging portion of ,saidmember out of abutting driving engagement withthe edge portion of anybut the desired predetermined branch notch.

The present invention in still another of its aspects may include acasing housing a stack of aligned unwrapped thin blades, blade-ejectionmeans including a reciprocable blade-forwarding member drivinglyengageable solely with theend thin blade of said stack and adapted toslide said blade alonga predetermined exit path, and strippingmeansalongside said path for holding back the next thin blade in saidstackduring the ejection of the end thin blade including a relatively shortflange integral with said casing and extending in parallelspaced-relation to a well thereof into obstructing relation to said nextthin blade, said flange being spaced from said wall by an amount lessthan the combined thickness of the aforementioned two thin blades, butnot less than the thickness of one thin blade, thereby providing a gapalong said exit path through which only. one blade can bepassed'at atime, the flange serving to obstruct and hold back the blade next to thethin end one, thereby relatively stripping it from the end blade as thelatter is forwarded during ejection.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters indicatelike parts:

Figure 1 represents an enlarged perspective view of a loaded blademagazine constituting one illus trative embodiment of the presentinvention, Shown with its slide cover in the closed position;

Fig. 2 represents a perspective view showing how the magazine of Fig. 1may be manipulated to eject a blade for subsequent manual placement inthe razor; the ejected blade and the magazine slide cover being shown atthe end of the forward stroke of the latter;

Fig. 3 represents a perspective View showing the magazine of Fig. 1operatively associated with a safety razor, with the magazine slidecover being retracted preparatory to feeding a fresh blade directly intothe associated razor;

Fig. 4 represents a longitudinal cross-sectional View taken through thecenter of the blade magazine with retracted slide cover shown in Fig. 3;the razor being omitted for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 5 represents a plan view in slight perspective looking down on themagazine with retracted slide cove'r shown in Fig. 3; the razor againbeing omitted forthe sake of clarity;

Fig. 6 represents a longitudinal cross-sectional view similar to that ofFig. 4 but showing the blade-ejecting slide cover partially advanced onits forward stroke, and the uppermost blade partially ejected from themagazine;

Fig. 7 represents a transverse cross-sectional view taken on line ofFig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 represents a transverse cross-sectional View taken on line 88 ofFig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows; the magazine slide coverand associated blade-forwarding member being omitted for the sake ofclarity;

Fig. 9 represents a fragmentary sectional View taken on line 9-45 ofFig. 8, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 represents a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken on lineIii-i0 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 11 represents an exploded View showing the major parts of themagazine of Fig. l, in per spective, prior to assembly.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1, 10 and 11, the particularembodiment of the present invention illustrated in the drawings mayinclude a generally tubular casing I open at its opposite ends, ablade-carrying base member 2 insertable into said casing, astack-actuating spring 3, and a reciprocable blade-dispensing slidecover 4. Casing I may be constructed of sheet mate-'- rial, as forexample sheet aluminum, folded to provide the bottom panel 5, a pair ofopposed side panels 6 and i and a pair of inwardly-extendingblade-exit-path-determining top flanges or panels 8 and 9 having asubstantial gap therebetween. If desired, however, the casing may bemolded from any suitable thermoplastic material, such as Lucite or thelike. A pair of inwardly-extending guide-ribs or lugs it and H, whichmay be struck or pressed from the material of the side panels 6 and i,may be provided near the forward or dispensing end of the casing, forthe purpose of guiding the head of a safety razor into correct operativeengagement with the magazine for loading. Immediately below theseguide-ribs Hi and II may be provided a pair of outwardly-extending stopsi2 and it, which may be pressed from, or molded integrally with, thecasing side panels. These stops i2 and I3 extend into abutting relationwith the forward edges of the cover side panels Hi and i5, and thusserve to limit the forward movement of the reciprocable slide cover 4.

A pair of inwardly-extending blade-stripping flanges I6 and I? are alsoprovided near the dispensing end of the casing I. These flanges l6 andI1, as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, may

be struck from the material of the casing side panels 6 and 1, andpreferably extend parallel thickness of two blades, so as to permit thepassage of only one blade at a time through the gaps between the flangesl6 and i1 and the overlying panels 8 and 9. These blade-stripping ribsl6 and I1, each of which preferably extend' inwardly into the magazinefor only a relatively short distance, lie in abutting relation to thenext to the uppermost and lower blades of the stack, but do not extendinto abutting relation to the uppermost blade, thereby permitting saiduppermost blade to be ejected from the magazine, and serving to holdback and strip therefrom the next blade immediately adjacent thereto,which might otherwise tend to be carried or dragged along with theuppermost blade through adhesion or friction.

by bending these blade-stripping'flanges up into their final positionsaround a suitable-positioned blade, or wafer of corresponding thickness,and then Withdrawing said blade or wafer, gaps will be provided havingthe desired dimension, as determined by the thickness of the blade orwafer around which the flanges were bent.

The stack-lifting spring 3, which may be bifurcated to provide a pair ofupwardly-bowed leg portions I8 and I9, may bepermanently secured insidethe tubular casing I to the bottom panel 5 thereof by any suitablemeans, as for instance by rivets 20, or by being soldered, spot weldedor otherwise fastened thereto.

The blade-carrying base member 2, which may be conveniently molded fromthermoplastic material, such as Lucite or the like, may include agenerally flat panel 2| longitudinally recessed along its under side asat 22 to accommodate the spring 3, and an upwardly-extending rear wall23 having a special set back 24 providing a rear stop for limiting therearward or return movement of slide cover 4 through engagement with thedownwardly-extendingstop pins 25 thereof. .Base member 2 is alsoprovided with a centrally disposed, upwardly extending blade-locatingrib 26, which is adapted to extend upwardly through the center slots ofa stack of slotted blades 21, and thus position or locate the blades ina horizontal sense and in vertical alignment on the base member 2. Theupper edge of this blade-locating rib 26 is especially shaped, forreasons which will subsequently appear. Blade-retarding portions 28,extending not quite up to the top of the rib 26, may be provided onopposite sides of the rib near its forward end for the purpose ofpreventing longitudinal shifting of all the blades except the uppermostone, by occupying the vertically-aligned diamond-shaped openings nearthe forward ends thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

The base member 2 may also be provided with a pair of upstandingintegral stop posts 29 for limiting the insertion of the razor head intothe mouth of the magazine, as illustrated more particularly in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings. Concavmes or recesses 30 may also be provided on oppositeside edges of the base member 2, and

after the magazine partshave been assembled,

the juxtaposed portions 3| of the casing side panels 1 and 8 may bepressed or crimped thereinto to hold the magazine parts assembled.

' Elongated spring-accommodating longitudinal 'slots 32 may be providedin the base member 2 on opposite sides of the central blade-locating rib26, in order to permit the forward ends of the stack-actuating springarms l8 and H! to extend through the base member 2 and against thelowermost blade of the stack 21, thereby operatively to press upwardlyagainst the stack.

The blades of the stack 21 may be of the double-edge type, as shown inthe drawings, and preferably are of thickness not exceedingapproximately .007". The thickness of the blades has been considerablyexaggerated in the drawings for the sake of clarity. Thus, for example,the magazine in the drawings has been illustrated as containing onlyseven blades, together occupying a relatively substantial amount ofspace inside the magazine. It is to be understood, however, that inactual practice a magazine having the general dimensions of the oneillustrated in the drawings may readily accommodate as many as twenty ortwenty-five blades of .007" thickness or less. Such blades, and

particularly the extremely flexible blades of wafer-thinness, about.004" thick, now being sold commercially, may be called thin, orrelatively thin, blades; and it is therefore to be understood that thesewords thin or relatively thin where used in the specification and claimsis intended to signify blades of thickness not exceeding approximately.007", more or less, and particularly the aforementioned'extremelyflexible wafer-thin blades of thickness in the order of approximately.004".

The slide cover 4 may be provided at or near its forward end withdownwardly-depending side panels l4 and I5, and inturned bottom panelsor flanges 33 and 34, to embrace the casing I and thus permit the slidecover 4 to be reciprocated to-and-fro along that casing between thelimits defined by the forward steps 12 and I3, and the rear stop 24. Ablade-feeding element, which may be in the form of a leaf spring 35, maybe secured to the slide cover 4 in any suitable manner, as for example,by rivets 36. The front end of leaf spring 35 is preferably curveddownwardly as at 31, and presents the forward tip thereof for drivingengagement with the blades of the stack 21. A central notch 38 may beprovided in the front end of the feeder spring 35, into which may extendthe upper edge of the blade-locating rib 26. Blade-driving projections39, constituting the most forwardly and downwardly projecting portionsof the feeder spring 35, may be disposed adjacent and on opposite sidesof the notch 38. The feeder portions adjacent these blade-drivingprojections 39 are preferably recessed or set back with respect to thetips of the projections 39 in a vertical sense (i. e. in the directionof the thickness of the blades) by a slight amount, not exceeding thethickness of the thin blades that are to be dispensed, as at 40. Whenthe slide cover 4 has been fully retracted to the limit permitted by theengagement of the stop elements 25 and 24, these setback surfaces orshoulders 40 rest on the upper surface of the uppermost blade onopposite sides of and straddling the last transversely-extend-.jections. 39 :project downwardly into "said lateral notches 42. Sincethese surfaces 40 are set back relative to the tips of the blade-drivingprojections 39 by an amount not exceeding the thickness of one blade,the projections are thereby preventedfrom coming *into abutting drivingrelation with the second or underlying blades of thestack, thusinsuring, that only the. uppermost blade will be directly driven forwardon the forward stroke of the slidecover 4.

Inclined blade-accommodating notches 4| are also preferably provided atthe feeder tip intermediate the blade-engaging surfaces 48 and theblade-driving projections 3.9,, in order to permit improvement in thesecurity of the .clriving con- .nection between the projections 39 andthe forward edges, of the transversely-extending bladenotch'42 duringtransverse flexure or bowing of the rearmost portion of the blade in thecourse 'of'its ejection.

Downwardly projecting stack-depressing: protuberances 43, disposed onopposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the slide cover 4, maybe pressed outv of the material of said cover,

these protuberances serving to depress at least the front endsof thestack of blades 2'! against the infiuenceof the stack spring 3, in theman- .ner more particularly'illustrated in Fig. 10, when the slide cover4 is in the closed position shown in'Fig. 1. This depression brings theuppermost blade of the stack into abutting relation with the flanges *l6and I1, rendering it impossible for that or the other blades to be evenpartially ejected when the cover .is in closed position.

This securing of blades against unintended longitudinal movement is alsoaided by the fact thatthe upstanding portions-28 of the basememher 2alsoextend completely through the uppermost blade of the .stack' .ondepression of the frontstack end by the slide cover protuberances 43,;and by the obstruction to forward movement presented by the rear edge ofthe central rib 26,

at least with respect to the lower blades of the stack.

' Referring now more particularly to Figure 11, the above-describedblade magazine may be readily and easily assembled by dropping theblades of the stack 21 onto the upper surface of the-base member 2, sothat the central bladelocatin-g rib 26 extends upwardly through thelongitudinal slots of the blades, thus holding the bladesinyertical-alignment. The slide cover 4 may then'be telescoped over thecasing until the front'edges of the cover side panels M and .I5respectively encounter the outwardly extending casing stops I2 and [3.The blade-loaded base member 2 may then be insertedinto the rear (right)end of the tubular casing .I. As the base member 2 progresses into thecasing I, the legs l8 and 19 of the stack-actuating spring 3 will firstbe depressed .into close proximity to the casing bottom panel .5, andwill then be freed and spring upwardly through the base slots 32into'operative contact with the stack 27, lifting said stack up to theposition shown in Fig. 10.

The casing side walls may then be crimped inwardly as at 3| to projectinto interlocking engagement with the baseconcavities 3e (Figs. 3 and 8)thereby effectivelylocking the magazine parts together. 7

Ifhe hereinabove described magazine may be manipulated to dispense thethin razor blades contained therein in the following manner. The

- hand placed over the outwardly extending protuberances '44, and thenretracts the cover 4 by sliding it tothe right as far as it will go, asdetermined by engagement of the stop pins 25 with the stop surface 24shown in Figure 4. Duringxmost of this rearward movement of slide cover4, the tips 39 of the feeder spring 35 are held above and clear of theuppermost blade of the stack 21 through. the lifting of the front end ofthe spring against its inherent resilience,

caused by the sliding engagement between the upper edge of theblade-locating rib 26 and the uppermost wall of the feeder notch 38.Near the endof the rearward, movement, the feeder spring is permitted tolower its tip down onto the upper surface of the uppermost blade, byreason of the downward curvature of the rearmost portion of the upperedge of the .rib 26. This upper edge is so curved as to let the springtip down into the blade-driving position shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5,wherein the spring shoulders 46 rest, on the upper surface of theuppermost blade straddling the rearmost transversely-extending pair ofblade notches 42, with the blade-driving projections 39of the feederspring extending down into said notches 42 and lying in abuttingrelation with the forward edges 45 of said blade notches 52, on oppositesides of the longitudinal blade slot. The slide cover 4 is thenadvanced, causing the forward edges of the spring feeder projections 39first toabut against the aforesaid blade edges 45 in line contact, andthereafter pushingly toslide the uppermost blade forwardly. Since theblade-driving spring projections '39 project downwardly below thebladesurface abutting shoulders or setback surfaces 43 only by an amountnot exceeding the thickness of one. blade, solely the uppermost blade ofthe stack will be directly 1driven forward by said projections. Anytendency that .the second blade in the stack mightyhave to drag'orcslideforwardly along with the uppermost blade is overcome, as will beseenfrom "Figures 5, 8 .and 9, by the presence of the casing flanges Itand I! which extend inwardly into the front cut-out corner portions oftheblades2! andliezin abutting relation to the secondandpnderlyingblades of the stack. These flanges i6 and I! thus hold back said secondblade and relatively strip it from the uppermost one as the latter .isbeing slid forwardlyduring ejection.

Coming back to Figures 4 .6 and 7, it'wi'll be observed that theuppermost edge of the centrally disposed blade-locating rib. 26 isappreciably higher than the under-surface of the casing top flanges 8and 9, against which the blade being ejected is slidingly held underthe'influence of the stack-actuating spring legs. 18 and I9 actingthrough the stack of blades. Therefore, as the uppermost blade is slidforward, its central solid end portion d6 rides up over the crest of therib 26, flexing the blade transversely. Thistransverse bowing orflexingof the trailing'end of the uppermost blade during ejection, whichis clearly illustrated in Figs. 6 and'7, greatly improves the securityof the initial driving connection between the spring projections 39 andthe blade-notch edges 45. Thus, because of this transverse bowing orflexing of the blade during ejection, the blade-notch edges 45' arecausedto incline and shift upwardly on the driving spring-projections 39into firm, interlocking engagement, since this movement of theblade-notch edges 45 is upwardly in a direction away from and oppositethe disengagement direction. This cooking or tilting of the blade-notchedges 45 is facilitated and accommodated by the presence of the inclinedspring notches 4| at the tip of the spring between the shoulders 40 anddriving projections 39. Thus, these inclined notches 4| accommodate theblade during its transverse flexure or bowing, and contribute to theimprovement of the security of the driving engagement between the springprojections 39 and the abutting bladeedges 45 during blade ejection.This transverse bowing of the blade during ejection is of considerableadvantage in the dispensing of thin blades wherein the initial selectiveengagement of the blade-forwarding means with the blade is limited bythe extreme thinness of the blade itself. Thus, were it not for thetransverse flexure or bowing of the thin blade during ejection, theapplication of the unavoidable frictional load to the blade duringejection, and particularly where the blade is being slid directly into arazor head, would in many instances cause the blade-engaging drivingmeans to slip upwardly out of driving engagement with the extremely thinblade edge. However, by means of the above-described transverse flexureor bowing of the blade, the blade itself is stiffened in a longitudinalsense, and the thin edges by which the blade is initially selectivelyadvanced shift into more secure and interlocking engagement with respectto the driving projections. The bowing of the blade and the shiftingofits driven edges 45 also permit the driving projections 39 to extendcompletely through, and project beyond the under side of, the bladebeing expelled from the magazine. It will be noted that the uppersurfaces of the blade-driving spring projections 39 are inclinedrearwardly and that the under surfaces of these projections aresubstantially horizontal. The intersection of the horizontal undersurface with the rearwardly inclined upper surface forms an acute angleproviding a fairly sharp line at the very tip of each driving projection39, thus insuring sharp line contact with the thin blade edges 45 duringthe initial selection and forwarding of the uppermost blade of thestack. This sharp line contact affords slipfree driving engagementbetween projections 39 and blade edges 45 during the initial phase ofblade ejection, and is later followed by the cocking or upward tiltingof blade edges 45 into more secure interlocking engagement with thedriving projections 39 as the trailing'end of the blade is bowedupwardly during ejection, as described hereinabove. The slope oftheupper surface of the spring projections 39 aids materially in guidingblade edges 45 into the aforesaid more secure interlocking engagementwith the spring projections 39, since the cooked blade edges 45 arethereby caused to ride upwardly and rearwardly on the projections 39;and the greater the driving thrust between feeder spring and blade,"themore securely and firmly interlocked they become.

The feeder spring 35 can only engage with the edges of the predeterminedcorrect rearmost notches 42 of theblade, because of the presence of thespring-lifting upper edge of blade-locating rib 26. If, for example,through inadvertence, slide cover 4 is not entirely retracted before itis started on its forward stroke, the spring pro.-

10 jections 39 will not have been lowered into engagement with any partof the uppermost blade, and the latter will, therefore, not move forwardat all. This feature avoids unintended partial or incomplete ejection ofa blade. v the magazine has. been shown operatively associated with ahead.

In Figure 3 of the drawings,

of a razor of special construction permitting the ready withdrawal ordischarge of .used blades.

This razor is shown in greater detail, and. is claimed, in applicantsco-pending application Ser. No. 696,990, filed September 14, 1946. Itis: to be understood, however, that the magazine of the presentinvention may be used to load direct-. ly any of a large variety ofrazors intended or' designed to receive blades fed endwiselongitudinally into an end of the razor head. Thus,

for example, the magazine of the present inven-. tion may, in someinstances with only slight modification, and in other instances withoutany modification whatsoever, be used to load the razors shown in U. S.Patents Nos. 2,377,388 dated June 5, 1945; 2,299,416, dated October 20,1942; 1,953,685, dated April 3, 1934; and in applicants co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 564,770, filed November 23, 1944, now Patent No.2,424,260.. The magazine. of the present invention may also be used todispense double-edged blades that are open at one end, as shown forexample in. U. S. Patent No. 2,361,512, dated October31,'1'944 and whenloaded with such blades may be opera. atively engaged with, and feedsuch blades 'di-' rectly into, safety razors designed to receiveopenended blades fed endwise longitudinally there-- into, as shown, forexample, in the 'la'st-men-.-lv tioned patent.

The magazine of the present invention. may, also be used, if desired, todispense blades into the hand of the user (as illustrated in Fig. 2) forsubsequent manual placement within the safety razor. When operated inthis manner, just before the end of the forward stroke of slide cover 4,the rearmost end 46 of the blade being ejected which was formerly bowedor flexed upwardly by the presence of the upstanding blade-locating. rib26, unbows or straightens itself out as it passes, beyond the front endof rib 26, and, under the now unopposed influence of spring 35 acting incombination with the flanges l6 and I1, assumes a reversedownwardly-bowed or downwardly-, flexed position. This downward dishingof the blade in the vicinity of its notches 42 snaps the notch forwardedges 45 downwardly out of driving engagement with the springprojections 39, whereupon the blade ceases to be moved forward, andspring 35 completes its forward stroke idly. This brings the variousblade and magazine parts into the positions illustrated in Figure 2,which clearly shows the tip ofthe spring 35 pressing. down centrally onthe upper surface of the blade. Therefore, at the end of the forward.strokeof slide cover 4, the blade almost completely projects beyond themagazine and is frictionally lightly held in that position and preventedfrom falling out by feeder spring 35 pressing downwardly at its centralend zone against the upward thrusts;

If, however, th blade is fed directly into it. from-being boweddownwardly by spring 35 after it passes beyond the rib 26.

An unusual feature of the present invention is the provision of a simplecompact magazine which will dispense even the very thinnest of razorblades, one by one as needed, in an assured and reliable and jam-freemanner, and which yet doesnot require and is entirely independent of anycritically careful assembly of parts to very close. tolerances such aswould render the magazine impractical for purposes of mass production.Thus, referring to the. detailed construction and arrangement of theparts of the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, it will beobserved that the base member 2 bears no critical relation to the casingI; and small variations, for example, in the vertical location of thecasing top flanges 8 and 9 with respect to the base 2 in different.magazines will be readily accommodated by the resilient stack-actuatingspring 3, which will always lift the stack of blades and hold theuppermost blade in. its correct exit position against the under side ofthe flanges 8 and 9 irrespective of the precise vertical distancebetween these top flanges and the base. Similarly, the slide cover 4bears no critical relation to the base 2, orcasing I, or the thin blades2'], when assembled, since the blade-ejecting member 35 verticallyadjusts itself to the uppermost blade in the stack, and will assuredlyselect and drive forward only that uppermost blade, due to thepredetermined fixed relationship of the spring portions 39. and 40. Thisrelationship can be readily controlled within the required limits ofaccuracy since both portions 39 and 40 are located on the same singleelement, namely the vertically adjustable spring 35 Thus also, theblade-stripping flanges l6 and I1 which strip or hold back the secondand underlying blades are integral with the casing walls, and maytherefore readily be bent to provide small correctlydimension'ed gapsalong the exit path of the uppermost blade just large enough to pass onethin blade, but not large enough to simultaneously pass two such blades,therethrough. Here again the gap widths are determined by and dependentupon the relative positions of portions of the same member, which mayeasily be controlled within the required limits of accuracy, and withoutinvolving establishment of or adherence to any special critical relationbetween assembledparts.

It will be understood of course that various modifications may be madein the illustrated embodiment without losing the special advantagesresulting therefrom, and without departing from the scope of theinvention. Thus, for example, the stripping flanges l6 and I! may beaccurately located with respect to the 8 and 9 by molding casing I,instead of forming it from sheet material bent into desired form. Ineither case, however, thegap dimensions will be independent of anyrelation'between assembled separate parts; and the'relative shortnessofthe flanges l6- and [-1 avoids unintended undesirable overlying topflanges 12 changes in gap widths, as from-warping, shrinkage orexpansion, after formation.

If desired, the tip of the feeder spring 35 may, with slightmodification, be altered so that the blade-driving projections 39thereof will drivingly engage the rearmost external edge of the blade21, instead of engaging the internal notch edges 45 as shown. It will beunderstood therefore that where reference is made in the claims to ablade edge it is intended, unless otherwise clearly indicated, tosignify any transversely extending edge of theblade, be it an internalnotch edge or an external'blade edge.

Thus also, if desired, the casing guide ribs l0 and H may berespectively combined with the stripping flanges i6 and I? into singlecomposite flanges, which will perform the dual functions of guiding therazor head into operative telescoping engagement in the mouth of themagazine, and of stripping the underlying from the uppermost bladeduring ejection of the latter.

Although the stack-depressing protuberances 43 of the slide-cover 4 areshown near the forward end of the cover, these protuberances may, ifdesired, extend rearwardly along the major portion of the said cover.Also, the blade-retarding portions 28 of the base member 2 may bedispensed with, if desired, since the combination of the blade-strippingflanges" I 6 and I l and the central blade-locating rib 25 will beadequate in the assembled devices to hold back the underlying blades,particularly in view of the progressive depression of the blade stack 21by the slide-cover protuberances 43.

In another alternative form, the magazine of the present inventionmay beprovided with a special rib or other hand-grip on the under side of thecasing for the user's left hand, as indicated for example'in themagazine of applicants prior Patent No. 2,384,503, dated September 11,1945, for convenience in ejecting a blade for subsequent manualplacement into the razor. The slide cover 4 may also be modified, ifdesired, so as to be grasped nearorat its rearmost end, instead of nearits foremost end as illustrated; and furthermore the cover, instead ofembracing the casing, may slidein slots extending'along the top or upperside wall portions of the casing, thus permitting the user to grasp thecasing directly by its side Walls withthe left hand.

Although the magazine of the present invention is particularlyadvantageous for the dispensing of thin or relatively thin flexibleblades, unusual features and advantages thereof may be utilized in thedispensing of relatively thicker more rigid blades, as for examplesingle-edged Valet blades of from .0010 to .0012" in thickness as shownin application Serial No. 594,275, filed May 17, 1945, now Patent No.2,586,109.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail anillustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new anddesire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. In a magazine for dispensing thin flexible blades, stack-locatingmeans for holding a stack of such blades in-a predetermined position insaid magazine, reciprocable blade-advancing means having a blade-drivingprojection extending in the direction of the thickness of said bladesand shoulder-means engageable with the surface of the end blade of saidstack for positioning said projection so that its tip lies in abuttingrelation to an edge of said end blade, and means for transverselyflexing the advancing end blade after its initial displacement, theblade-advancing means being recessed intermediate its aforesaidbladedriving projection and its shoulder-mean to accommodate thetransverse flexure of the blade.

2. A blade-dispensing magazine including a casing having a blade-exitpassageway, a stack of relatively thin flexible blades in said casing,spring means resiliently urging said stack of blades into positionwherein the end blade is in alignment with said blade-exit passageway,blade-dispensing means reciproca-ble with respect to said casingincluding a blade-driving portion movable into abutting relation with anedge of said end blade, a blade-engaging stop-shoulder set back from thetip of said driving portion in the direction of the thickness of saidblades by an amount not exceeding the thickness of one blade, andbladeflexing means transversely flexing said blade in the region of itsengagement by said driving por-, tion during movement of said bladethrough said blade-exit passageway.

3. In a magazine for dispensing thin flexible blades, stack-locatingmeans for holding a stack of such blades in registration in apredetermined position in such magazine, reciprocable blade-advancingmeans having an inclined blade-driving projection extending bothforwardly and in the direction of the thickness of said blades andshoulder-means having a blade-contacting surface horizontally offsetrelative to the forward tip of said projection and engageable with thesurface of the end blade of said stack for positioning said inclinedprojection so that its forward tip is in abutment with an edge wall ofsaid end blade, thereby on the initial advancement of said projectionselectively to advance said end blade, and a blade-deflecting memberlocated in the path of the thus-advanced blade shifting at least aportion of said edge wall up over the tip of the inclined projectionduring the blade discharge, thereby to increase the security of thedriving engagement after the initial selective advance of the blade.

4. In a magazine for dispensing thin flexible centrally aperturedblades, a central blade-locating rib for holding a stack of such bladesin registration in a pre-determined position in said magazine,reciprocable blade-advancing means having a blade-driving projectionextending inthe direction of the thickness of said blades and a set-backshoulder offset laterally with respect to said blade-driving projectionand engageable with the surface of the end blade of said stack forpositioning said projection to extend only partially into acentrally-located aperture of said blade in abutting relation to an edgeWall thereof, thereby on the initial advancement of said bladeadvancingmeans selectively to advance said end blade, said rib serving as adeflection member located in the path of the thus-advanced bladeshifting said edge wall in the aforesaid direction during bladedischarge to cause the said projection to extend completely through andbeyond said centrally-located aperture.

5. In a magazine for dispensing thin flexible blades, stack-locatingmeans for holding a stack of such blades in registration in apredetermined position in said magazine, reciprocable blade-advancingmeans having a blade-driving element movable in the direction of thethickness of said blades into driving engagement with a trans verselymedial edge portion of the end blade of said stack and shoulder meansengageable with the surface of the end blade of the stack spacedlaterally relative to said blade-driving element for positioning thelatter in driving relation tothe aforesaid edge portion and a deflectionmember located in the path of the advancing blade relatively to shiftthe engaged portions of said driving element and said end blade intomore secure driving relation once the blade has been started on its wayout.

6. In a magazine for dispensing double-edged blades of the kind having alongitudinal central slot and a plurality of transversely extendingnotches communicating with said slot, a casing, a central blade-locatingpanel adapted to extend through the longitudinal slots of a stack ofsuch blades and hold them in substantial registration, ablade-forwarding member reciprocable with respect to said casing in thelongitudinal direction of said blades and movable toward and away fromsaid stack in the direction of the thickness of said blades andyieldingly biased towards said panel, said member having a blade.-driving portion extending in the said thickness direction of said bladesand drivingly abuttable against a predetermined transverse notch edgestack of such blades and hold them in substantial registration, ablade-forwarding spring member reciprocable with respect to said casingin the,

longitudinal direction of said blades and capable of flexing towards andaway from said stack in the direction of the thickness of said blades,said spring member having at its outermost tip a pair of blade-drivingprojections disposed one on either side of the central plane of saidbladelocating member and extending in the said thickness direction andabuttable against transverse edge portions of the end blade of saidstack, and

a pair of blade-surface-engaging shoulders set back with respect to theblade-driving projections in the said thickness direction by an amountnot exceeding the thickness of a single blade.

8. In a magazine for dispensing thin longitudinally-slotted double-edgedblades, having a casing and. a central blade-locating member adapted toextend through the longitudinal slots of a stack of such blade and holdthem in substantial registration, a. blade-forwarding memberreciprocable with respect to said casing in the longitudinal directionof said blades and also movabletowards and away from said stack in thedirection of the thickness of said blades, said blade-forwarding memberhaving a pair of blade-driving portions extending in the said thicknessdirection and abuttable against transverse edge portions of the endblade of said stack on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis thereof,and another portion set back relative to said blade-driving portions andmovable into surface engagement with said end blade to prevent saidblade-driving portions from coming into abutment with any of the otherblades of said stack.

9. A magazine for dispensing double-edged long-slot blades of thicknessnot exceeding .007

inch including a casing adapted to house a 15? throughthe blade slotsand hold them in registration; springmeans adaptedresiliently to urgesaid. stack into. predetermined position against said'upper casing wall,the casing having a bladeexit passageway defined, atleast in part, bysaid upper casing wall, and a pair of underlying inwardly-extendingflanges integral with and extending parallel to said wall within theconfines of the casing and each spaced from said upper wall by an amountnot less than the thickness of a single blade thereby providingtherewith a discharge gap bounded on opposite faces by parallel integralelements, said flanges each adapted to extend into abutting relation tothe end of the second blade of said stack, said blade-locating rib.extending upwardly at least to the level of the upper surface of saidunderlying flanges.

10. A container for the dispensing of doubleedged blades of thicknessnot exceeding .007" andhaving central slots with transverseenlargements, said container including a blade-enclosing member having asheet metal cover slidably connected therewith, said cover havingdownwardly and inwardly turned marginal portions embracing portions ofthe sides of the blade-enclosing member and the latter having stopsurfaces in abutting relation to forwardly and rearwardly faced portionsof said cover and fixing the path of sliding movementthereof, saidblade-enclosing member including a base portion molded of thermoplasticmaterial and having an integral upstanding blade-locating ribtransversely-centered therein and adapted to extend through the bladeslots to hold the blades in vertically aligned stack formation, said ribincludin transversely-extending side portions adapted to project intotransverse enlargements of the blade slots thereby to hold the bladeengaged therewith against longitudinal movement, and an archedmulti-pronged spring member in the blade-enclosin member for pressingthe blade stack upwardly towards the slidable cover, the cover includinga pair of transversely-spaced downwardly-extending projections adapted,when the cover has been fully retracted, .to engage edge portions of theuppermost blade in the stack equi-distantly from the blade center line,said cover also including a region adjacent and integral with saidprojections and engageable with the top surface of the uppermost blade,said projections extending downwardly from said bladesurface-contactingregion a distance no greater than the thickness of the blade, wherebythe leading end portion of the uppermost blade in the stack will beadvanced from said blade-enclosing member as the cover is returned fromits retracted position to its container-closing position.

11. A container according to claim wherein the cover further includes adepressed bladecontacting' region extending downwardly on opposite sidesof the blade center line sufliciently to maintain the uppermost blade inthe stack in operative engagement with the transversely-extending sideportions of the upstanding bladelocating rib when the cover is in itscontainerclosing position, and said depressed cover region being movableon the retraction of said cover to a position freeing said blade to belifted by said spring member out of engagement with said side portions,whereby said uppermost blade will be freed for subsequent longitudinalmovement by said cover in its return from its retracted position to itscontainer-closing position.

12. -A container for the dispensing of doubleedged blades of thicknessnot exceeding .007" and having central slots with side enlargements,said container including a blade-enclosing member having a heet metalcover slidably connected therewith, said cover having downwardly andinwardly turned marginal portions embracing portions of the sides of theblade-enclosing member and the latter having stop surfaces in abuttingrelation to forwardly and rearwardly faced portions of said cover andlimiting the path of sliding movement thereof, said blade-enclosingmember including a base portion having an integral upstandingblade-locating rib transversely centered therein and adapted to extendthrough the blade slots to hold the blades in vertically aligned stackformation, saidrib including bladeretarding side portions adapted toproject into side enlargements of the blade slots thereby to hold theblades engaged therewith against longitudinal movement, and a bowedspring member in the blade-enclosing member for pressing the bladestack-upwardly towards the slidable cover, the cover having a depressedblade-contactingregion extending downwardly on opposite sides of theblade center line sufficiently to maintain the uppermost blade of thestack at a level below the top of said blade-retarding side portions sothat said blade will be engaged with said side portions when the coveris closed, thereby to prevent longitudinal blade movement when the coveris in that position, and said depresed cover region being movable on theretraction of said cover to a position freeing said blade for lifting bysaid spring to a level higher than the top of the blade! retarding sideportionsof the blade-locating rib, thereby to permit subsequentlongitudinal movement of said blade, and projections on said coverengageable with a transverse edge of said blade for driving the bladelongitudinally forward as the cover is returned from its retractedposition to its container-closing position.

13. A blade magazine including a casing and a stack of relatively thindouble-edged longslotted blades therein, said casing having an upperwall, a blade-locating rib extending through the slotted blades andholding them in registration, spring means resiliently urging said stackagainst said upper wall, the casing having a blade exit passagewaydefined, at least in part, by said upper wall and an underlying inwardlyextending short flange within the confines of the casing integral withand extending parallel to said upper wall and spaced therefrom by anamount not less than the thicknes of a single blade, thereby to providetherewith a discharge gap bounded on opposite faces by parallel integralelements, said flange extending into abutting relation to the end of thesecond blade of the stack, and said blade-locating rib extendingupwardly at least to the level of the upper surface of said underlyingflange.

14. A blade magazine including a casing and a stack of relatively thindouble-edged long-slotted blades therein, said casing having an upperwall made of metal, a blade-locating rib extending through the slottedblades and holding them in registration, spring means resiliently urgingsaid stack against said upper wall, the casing having a blade exitpassageway defined, at least in part,

by said upper wall and'an underlying inwardly extending short flangewithin the confines of the casing integral at its one .end with andextending parallel to said upper wall and being free at its other end,said flange being struck and bent 17 from the material of said upperwall and being spaced therefrom by an amount not less than the thicknessof a single blade, thereby to provide therewith a discharge gap boundedon upposite faces by parallel integral metal elements, said flangeextending into abutting relation to the end of the second blade of thestack, and said blade-locating rib extending upwardly at least to thelevel of the upper surface of said underlying flange.

NICHOLAS TESTI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number 18 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Gaisman July 26, 1932 TestiMay 16, 1933 Lashar May 30, 1933 Rodrigues May 28, 1940 Kuhnl Sept. 17,1940 'Muros Feb. 2, 1943 Testi Sept. 28, 1943 Stampleman Nov. 28, 1944Muros May 9, 1944 Muros Mar. 13, 1945 Testi Jan. 8, 1946 Dalkowitz Apr.6, 1948

